Lusian arrived at the Duchy and opened his eyes to the disaster.
His world shattered.
The corpses of Lord and Magister soldiers lay scattered among piles of rubble and destroyed streets.
Dead riders remained beside their magical beasts, some still breathing with difficulty among pools of blood and mana.
That fortress city…
That city that was supposed to endure until the end of the game…
Was on the verge of collapse.
—No… —Lusian whispered.
His voice came out broken.
Emily covered her mouth as she stared at the devastation.
The smell of blood, smoke, and demonic mana saturated the air until it became unbearable.
A chill ran down her spine.
—Lusian… —she murmured in anguish.
But he could barely hear her.
With every step he took, his breathing became heavier.
Harder.
As if his own body were screaming at him to turn back.
To run away.
The demonic pressure covering Norvind was absurd.
Monstrous.
Even the elite soldiers who had arrived with him were beginning to pale as they advanced.
For the first time since arriving in this world…
Lusian felt small.
Powerless.
The scale of that battle reduced everything to insignificance.
It was as if he were witnessing a natural disaster impossible to stop.
Then he saw it.
In the distance.
Between storms of black mana and white lightning, two colossal figures continued colliding like monsters born from a nightmare.
Every impact distorted the air.
Every roar made the ruins of the city tremble.
Sofía…
The most powerful woman in the kingdom.
Perhaps even in the world.
She was bleeding.
That woman who had never bowed her head to anyone was breathing heavily, covered in wounds and wearing shattered armor.
And the enormous Solar Lion, Larriet, could barely remain standing.
In front of them…
The demon smiled.
Lusian's eyes slowly widened.
—Mother…
Thunder suddenly reared onto his hind legs.
The living lightning released Lusian before launching forward.
Lusian fell to his knees against the destroyed ground.
And Thunder shot forward.
Desperate.
Every time the steed galloped, the air exploded with electrical sparks around him.
Anything that brushed against his body received brutal shocks.
High-level creatures collapsed convulsing the moment they tried to approach.
Umber, the dark wolf, also activated his ability.
His claws sliced through the air like blades of mana.
His fangs crushed flesh and bone without stopping.
Then the enormous wolf raised his head and unleashed a savage howl.
The sound crossed Norvind like an invisible wave.
The mana across the battlefield began to stir around Umber, aligning with his fury.
Thunder neighed violently.
Umber answered with another heartbreaking howl.
And both of them ran toward Sofía.
Toward the center of that hell.
She was still there.
On top of Larriet. Wounded and exhausted.
But still defiant.
Like a beacon impossible to extinguish amidst the chaos.
Lusian watched the scene unable to move.
And finally understood.
Even if he wanted to run toward her…
Even if he wanted to help her…
If he entered that battle right now…
He would die.
Without being able to do absolutely anything.
Thunder raised his front legs and unleashed the most powerful lightning bolt he could summon.
The sky roared.
A gigantic bolt of lightning descended from the clouds and crashed directly into the demon's body.
The electrical explosion illuminated all of Norvind.
The streets trembled.
The remains of buildings were blasted away as currents of electricity raced across the ground like furious serpents.
Vordrak let out a savage roar.
His enormous body was dragged several meters across the smoking ruins.
Finally, Thunder and Umber reached Sofía.
Thunder positioned himself in front of Larriet, neighing furiously while white lightning coursed across his entire body.
Umber bared his fangs and let out a deep growl, instinctively protecting his mistress.
Sofía slightly opened her eyes when she saw them.
—Thunder… Umber…
For the first time since the battle began, something resembling relief crossed her exhausted face.
But the demon rose again.
Slowly.
Fragments of electricity still crawled across his charred body.
His eyes were completely open.
Wide with madness.
—No… —he muttered.
His voice trembled for the first time.
—No… no…
Then he understood the truth.
His only chance to kill Sofía Douglas…
Had disappeared.
The three magical beasts attacked at the same time.
Thunder descended like living lightning, tearing through the air with a thunderous crash that shook all of Norvind.
Umber launched himself in a brutal leap, jaws wide open and covered in dark mana that seemed to devour the light around him.
And Larriet…
Larriet roared.
The roar of the Solar Lion swept through the city like the sound of a mountain collapsing.
The remaining walls vibrated.
The monsters froze.
Even the sky itself seemed to tremble.
The demon received the combined impact of the three beasts and finally gave way.
His body began stumbling backward in violent spasms as the demonic mana inside him spiraled out of control.
—NO! —Vordrak roared.
And in his final act of desperation…
His form began to crack.
Black fissures spread across his entire body, leaking an unnatural, cold, monstrous light.
The demonic pressure suddenly increased.
Too much.
Sofía opened her eyes.
—Everyone get back!
And then…
Vordrak exploded.
A gigantic burst of demonic energy illuminated the night.
The air itself seemed to ignite.
The ground split beneath the shockwave as a storm of black fire ravaged everything around it.
Larriet reacted instantly.
Still wounded.
Still on the verge of collapse.
The enormous Solar Lion leapt in front of Sofía and shielded his mistress with his body.
The explosion struck him directly.
Larriet's roar of pain shook the entire city.
His gigantic body was thrown dozens of meters through dust, blood, and rubble.
But even so, he managed to deflect much of the impact.
The remaining shockwave reached Sofía.
The ground beneath her feet shattered violently.
Her armor finally broke apart completely.
And finally…
The Duchess fell to one knee.
Blood slowly ran down her lips.
Thunder let out a desperate neigh.
Umber immediately ran toward Larriet.
And for an instant…
All of Norvind fell silent.
Thunder and Umber surrounded their leader, trembling, trying to protect her, even though there was nothing left to do.
It was at that moment that Lusian arrived.
He ran through the smoking remains of the city, stumbling several times without even realizing it. Tears already blurred his vision. Emily caught up with him shortly after, panting, her clothes covered in dust and ash.
When Lusian saw his mother, the world stopped.
—Mother… —he whispered.
His voice broke in the air, fragile, almost nonexistent.
Sofía raised her face.
And smiled.
A gentle smile.
A smile that did not belong to the battlefield.
A mother's smile.
—Lusian…
The young man collapsed to his knees in front of her, grabbing her hand desperately, as if he could keep the world together through that touch alone.
—Emily can help you… she can… —his voice broke uncontrollably—. She can heal you…
Emily immediately knelt beside her.
Her hands glowed with divine light.
Healing.
Purification.
Everything she had.
The light wrapped around Sofía… and then faded.
It unraveled.
As if something inside her erased it before it could take effect.
Emily's eyes widened in horror.
—No… it's not just her body… —she whispered—. Her soul… is… damaged… something is consuming her from the inside…
Lusian felt the air leave his lungs.
—Mother… please… don't go…
Sofía raised a trembling hand.
And with an impossible tenderness amidst that hell… she gently caressed his cheek.
Like when he was a child.
—My little one… you've grown so much…
Lusian tightened his grip on her hand.
—No… don't leave me… I can't… I can't without you…
His words broke into a choked sob.
Sofía looked at him calmly.
A calm that did not belong to this world.
—You have to keep moving forward, Lusian… —she whispered—. I won't be able to accompany you anymore… but you… live. Live for me… and be happy…
Thunder lowered his head, trembling.
Umber let out a deep, broken howl.
Emily fell to her knees, crying silently as the light around her faded away.
The entire world seemed to lose all sound.
All air.
All time.
In the distance, Larriet tried to rise.
His golden eyes burned.
He saw Sofía.
And unleashed a roar that tore through the sky.
Sofía leaned slightly toward her son.
Her final gesture.
Her farewell.
—I love you… my son…
Her hand lost strength.
It slowly fell.
And the chest of Sofía Douglas de Mondring stopped moving.
Lusian did not look away.
His gaze slowly emptied.
And something inside him…
Died together with Sofía.
Thunder took a step toward him.
Umber slowly approached in silence, sensing that nothing would ever be the same again.
The army, finally reunited, stopped behind Lusian.
No one spoke.
No one dared approach.
Because within that silence, within that newly born abyss…
Something was taking shape.
Something the world would soon come to know.